Cotton-picking machine



w. T. HQOFNAGLE COTTON PICKING MACHINE Filed July 14, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 aw ,3 1- E, L G A N F O O H T w July 19, 1927.

COTTON PIGKING MACHiNE Filed July 14, 1925 I 2 sheets-sheet? I v I Patontoei! Juiy iii, Iii-321?,

UNHTEE STATES GOTTGXLEICKING MAQETLHIE.

Application fllei July 14, 19535. Serial No. 43,5435.

This invontiou reiates ro improvemens in ooffou picking: machines. and more particw ism-1y totiio pickingfinger s. The picking fingers in machines this cisass consist oi rods which are rotated as "the machine moves along the rows of cotton plants, and the fingers oy s'uitaiiie mechanical moomu are caused to enter time cotton pioute to engage the boils and extract the cotton. and are then Withdrawn and passed between suitable strippers to strip fine cortou fibers from the fingers. Usually these fingers are roughened so as to pick the fibers and cause the cotton oo wrap arouui timn'i; out these roughened 1& surfaces interfere with stripping the 'cottou from the fingers.

It is the purpose of my invention to provide fingers with smooth surfaces so that the cotton fibers may be reauily stripped from the fiiigers. To aooompiish rhis. I pro ide ring-e s consisting of metal rods eooh havin a smooth outer covering or coating'o'f (11- oioctric material, and I provifle means for applying an electrostatic ohar zo to this outer covering- Wiiiieiile fingers are in the cotton, whereby when filo fingers are oroughtinfo conflict with the notion fibers in the ooiio. the fibers; 'wiil be attracted and iieid to the fingers, and es the letter rotate. the cotton will be Withdrawn from tiie boiis and wrapped around the fingers from which it may be reaciiiy stripped. Preferably, the fingers; are origuiar in cross section so How; after some oi the fihers have adhered to 85 finger, and the iatfer has moc'io oneor more re'voiutiona the adhering fibers; Wili be bent around the sham angles of the finger onci the remaining fibers Wii} be mechanically puiieri. from the boil The picking: fingers of my invention may be applieci to any suitable form of cotton picking machine. In the firewings, I have iiiustrnteri on? so murii of the machine as is necessary to illustrate the invention. in the accompanying (irawing Fig. 1 is: a plan iew showing, iii outfiizoe. a ooitoio' picking maohirio and tractor for pulL Eng some with the means for applying eiectrostaitio charges to the coatings or cowermsgs on the fingers;

Fig. 2 a. eeobion on 'the iino QWQ of Fig. 3 is e ioogituaiiooi seotion timmgh one of the goal" casing? oerryingra row of i picking fingers or; *b'he lino of Fig. 1 and of; Fig. i, one of flao fingers being shown with the etiieieotr .oontaot surface W? partly in sodium omi ihe oofitact bar for ho row 0"? fingers being also shown;

Fig); 3 a. cross section through one of the pic-king fingers, about on the line Fi -3 6 1 of Fig. 3;

3 is on end View of a picker; 211i,

1,. is a side elevation of a parfi of tho casing shown in Fig 8, looking from right to lo t, and showing two of the picking fim gers and the Contact members.

Referring to the drawing, (0 represents or cotton picking machine mounteci on tho Wheels 1 and having two groups, 2) and 0 of cotton picking fingers. iiheso groups being" 79 driven in opposite iroctioius by suitable gearing from one of the wiieeis 1, this gem in including ainain gear moshing with :1 gear 3 for'rototing the group of pickers 0, and also meshing; with a gear 4, which drives the group 25 through a gear 5. The

gearing urrzmgz'el'neut ShOVVD is ubstahtiaily the some as fliet illustrated in patent to Srheriing, No. 952.688, datei March 22, 191%, cotton harvester. The picking fingers 6 in 30 the groups' Z) and c are (Iii alike and are mounted and operated so that as the machine is (in. mi along the ground, with the wheeio 1 stmfldiiug: the row; the fingers in the group ("2 W511 enter the rows of. plants from 35 of the row and the group 0 will enier tho plants from the other sideoi the row, and as the groups rotate, the cotton will be sfiripp-od from the pickers by strip ping bars (Z which exit-" 11% the {156km ere in the vertical rows As shown in Fig oochtpioker oompriees a taparinp; Ififi'ilili rod F which is proieraiiiy angular in section, and. to the outer side of this roci appiioft a coating or oovms ering of dieiooiric material TH which may be celluloid, or any other suitable aiieieoirz'io substance, Eooh rod Y is connected. by an m-suiaimg 301M2- S to short shm'fs; 9 howl a bearing in he oaeing; i0, and upon, oi 1% shaft, ithin tho casing; is arrangeci. a bow eied gear 11, which meshes with beveled gear 12, upon a. vertiozi 1y arranged drive ehefi The part 7" of the picking finger, adjaoeht the insulating joint, is not covered ma'fieriel, for: o oil engu eci oy a M on a ver'fiioei oonciuotiug be? 15-; which is soo'ored by insulating supportg 1% $10 the easing Tiiis'eonoiuo'tizngg bar is erromred no close" to a vertical row of piokizm' fingers one has a coma-oi; for eaon pieker (ill in the row, so that all of the metal rods in the picking lingers will be electrically connected to the conducting bar 15.

The outer surfaces of the picking fingers are smooth, so that the cotton fibers may be readily stripped from the. fingers, but the lingers are preferably angular in cross section. as shown in Fig. 3".

lit-will be understood that each vertically arranged gear casing 10 carries a row of the picking lingers, and on each casing is mounted one of the conducting rods 15. upper eudot each conducting rod carries a roller 17 which, when the pickers are in the plants, bears against the underside of an arcuate conducting bar 18, which extends part Way around the group of picker casings. -As shown, there are two of these arcuate conducting bars, one for each of the groups, and they are arranged so that the will be engaged by the rollers 17 only while the vertical rows of pickers are extended into the cotton plants. Thus, as shown in the drawing, the rolls on only live of the vertical rows of each group engage the arcuate conductors.

A tractor t is shown propelling the cotton picking machine. and the "tractor is connected to the machine by suitable metal draw bars 19. These draw bars also provide electrical connections between the frames of the tractor and picking machine. Upon the tractor is a constantly operating driving motor 20, and two small current generators 21 are suitably driven from this motor. One pole of each generator is grounded, as shown at 22, and the other pole is connected by a flexible conductor 23 to one of the arcuate conducting bars 18. These generators are of high voltage and of relatively small current capacity, the functions of the generators being to apply electrostatic charges to the outer coatings of the pickers while the latter are in the cotton plants. [\ny type of generator suitable for this purpose may be employed.

operation, as the cotton picking machine is moved along the rows of cot on plants by the tractor, the generators are driven and a high voltage current is applied to the scvm'al pickers in each vertical row of pickers as they come under the arcuate bars 18, the current from said liars flowing through the rollers 17 to the vertical conduct ing rods 15, and thence passing through the springs l t to the contact sull'aces T" on the 'iicker rods. With a suitable high voltage current applied to the metal rods 7, electrostatic charges will be induced on the outer surfaces of the dielectric coatings on these rods and these electrostatic charges will cause the cotton fibers to adhere to the picking lingers. As previously stated, the pick- The as a .means for ing fingers are preferably angular in cross section and as the fibers which adhere to the fingers are carried around by the rapid r0- tation of the fingers. the fibers wrap around the sharp angles of the fingers and are mechanically pulled from the bolls. When the rollers on the vertical conducting bars pass from under the arcuate conductors 18, the electrical connection between the generators and the pickers is broken pickers pa'ss bet ween the strippers which remove the cotton from the pickers. The cotton strips readily from the fingers as the surfaces of the lingers are smooth and the. electrostatic c lhrge. if any remains on the pickers, has not sullicient attractive force to interfere with stripping the fibers from the tapering lingers. This charge rapidly dissipates after the interruption of the current.

What I claim is? 1. In a cotton picking machine, a plurality of picking lingers each con'iprising a metal rod insulated from the machine, and means for connecting said rods to a current source.

2. In a cotton picking machine. a plurality of picking lingers. each comprising a metal rod insulated from the machine and having a covering of dielectric material.

3. In acotton picking machine, a plurality of picking fingers. each having a covering of dielectric material. and means for applying an electrostatic charge to said covering.

t. In a cotton picking machine. a plurality of picking, lingers, eachcomprising a metal rod insulated from the machine and having a covering of dielectric material, means for rotating said lingers and for inserting and withdrawing the same from the cotton plants, and means for connecting said fingers to a current source while in the plants.

5. In a cotton picking machine, a plurality of picking lingers. each comprising a metal rod insulated from the machine and having a overing of dielectric material, means for rotating said fingers and for inserting and withdrawing the same from the .otton plants. and means for connecting said fingers to a current source while in the plants and t'or disconnecting the lingers from said source after they have been Withdrawn from the plants.

(S. ln a cotton picking machine, a plurality of p cking lingers. each comprising a metal rod insulated from the machine. means for rotating said lingers and 'lor inserting and withdrawing the same from the cotton plants, and means for connecting said lingers to a current source while in the plants.

In testimony whereof I hereunto allix my signature.

WILLIAM 'r. HOOFNAGLE.

and the too 

